Trump Seeks ‘Extreme Vetting’ To Stop Terrorism in U.S.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is calling for a Cold War-style mobilization against “radical Islamic terror,” repeating and repackaging calls for strict immigration controls, including a new ideological litmus test for Muslim visitors and migrants, and blaming the current level of worldwide terrorist attacks on President Obama and Hillary Clinton, the Washington Post reports. In a grab bag of promises to battle the Islamic State organization together with Russia and anyone else who wants to join the fight, the Republican nominee underlined the need to improve intelligence and shut down militant propaganda, recruiting, and financing.

He provided few specifics on how he would expand such efforts beyond those underway. “My administration will aggressively pursue joint and coalition military operations to crush and destroy ISIS,” Trump said in Youngstown, Oh. The principal new initiative was what Trump called “extreme vetting” for “any hostile attitude towards our country or its principles, or who believed sharia law should supplant American law. . . . Those who did not believe in our Constitution or who support bigotry and hatred will not be admitted for immigration into our country.” He added, “In the Cold War, we had an ideological screening test. The time is overdue to develop a new screening test for the threats we face today. . . . I call it extreme, extreme vetting.” Current U.S. naturalization law requires adherence to “the principles of the Constitution of the United States” and rejects advocates of a variety of ideological positions, and those with proclivities, in the judgment of immigration officials, to commit various crimes.

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